Back to EveryPatent.com
United States Patent | 6,251,185 |
Morrison ,   et al. | June 26, 2001 |
A system for placing chopped fiberglass strands onto a preform screen where desired includes a relatively light-weight chopper/feeder unit mounted on the outer end of a robot arm in closely spaced relation to the preform screen for robotically directing the chopped fiberglass strands onto the preform screen where desired with very little loss. Within the chopper/feeder unit is a cutter for chopping the fiberglass strands to the desired length. The cutter is driven by a variable speed motor attached to the chopper/feeder unit. Also attached to opposite sides of the chopper/feeder unit are a pair of air amplifiers that produce a sufficient volume and velocity of air flow around said cutter and through said unit to carry the chopped fiberglass strands away from the cutter and out through a discharge chute onto the preform screen.
Inventors: | Morrison; Richard S. (Concord, OH); Mollman; Robert E. (Perrysburg, OH); Hutchinson; Kenneth T. (Roaming Shores, OH) |
Assignee: | Molded Fiber Glass Companies (Ashtabula, OH) |
Appl. No.: | 285332 |
Filed: | April 2, 1999 |
Current U.S. Class: | 118/681; 118/308; 118/679; 118/690 |
Intern'l Class: | B05C 005/00; B05C 019/04 |
Field of Search: | 264/121,109 T 118/679,681,688,690,308 901/14 156/62 |
3491443 | Jan., 1970 | Fram | 30/128. |
3984054 | Oct., 1976 | Frochaux | 239/424. |
4088469 | May., 1978 | Schaefer | 65/5. |
5092522 | Mar., 1992 | Dykmans | 239/61. |
5093059 | Mar., 1992 | Nathoo et al. | 264/121. |
5645884 | Jul., 1997 | Harlow, Jr. et al. | 427/8. |